AWP
The Accuracy International AWSM ('''A'rctic W'arfare '''S'uper 'M'agnum)'', commonly mislabelled as ''AWP''' ''('A'rctic '''W'arfare 'P'olice), is a sniper rifle featured in all of the Counter-Strike games. Overview The AWSM is a powerful bolt-action sniper rifle available to both teams. It is renowned for being able to instantly kill a player with one hit on any part of the body except the legs. For this reason, the AWSM is one of the most popular and widely used weapons in Counter-Strike. Properties The AWSM is a fairly heavy weapon. While wielded, the player's movement speed is 210 units per second (default speed is 250), meaning they suffer heavy speed reduction. While zoomed in, their movement speed is 150 units per second. The AWSM is one of the many guns able to shoot underwater. Advantages * Very high damage (1-2 hit kills) * Good penetration through intervening targets and material * Very accurate at long range while scoped in * Moderate to fast reload speed Disadvantages * Groups of enemies cannot be taken out easily; shooting from an angle which can be difficult for enemies to fire on can make this easier. * Slow rate of fire * Very loud and distinct firing sounds * Extremely inaccurate while moving or unscoped * Heavy Gameplay Tactics *Unlike other sniper rifles, you should aim for the chest whenever possible, instead of the head. The chest presents a much larger target, and an AWSM shot would instantly kill. *In certain maps (especially Aztec), professional players can perform wall-bangs (hit enemy through a wall, box, or any other obstacle) that deal up to 60 damage. This tactic requires perfect accuracy, predictions, and a bit of luck. Many other weapons can wall-bang such as the M249, Desert Eagle and AK-47. *If you miss your shot a lot, try firing in front of your target, where they would be in 1/2 a second. This can compensate for slow reaction time or lag. Countertactics *Listen for AWSM shots. The firing sound is extremely loud and distinctive. *Don't try to wait for the shooter armed with AWSM, he's counting on your predicted position, and power of the bullet. Instead, don't stop moving, and shoot to intercept the sniper (shot through materials as well)! Controversy and History Due to its power, the AWSM has attracted much criticism since its introduction. Many players view it as an overpowered and unfair weapon requiring little skill, nicknaming it the "noob cannon", and those who use it "AWP whores". Many public servers restrict or ban the AWSM (and sometimes all sniper rifles except the Scout). The general opinion, however, is that whilst the AWSM is undeniably powerful, there is significant skill in its use, and so it is accepted by the majority of the community. Naming and realism debate Early versions of Counter-Strike incorrectly named the AWSM as the Arctic Warfare Police (AWP), a similar weapon. Whilst more recent versions have corrected this partially corrected this name (Magnum Sniper Rifle), the name AWP, has stayed in the community. It is common to see the weapon referred to as an AWP, both in and out of the game. Some purists prefer to use the acronym "AWSM" or "AWM" instead of the name "AWP" because the in-game weapon is more similar to the the actual AWSM (Arctic Warfare Super Magnum) rather than the actual AWP (Arctic Warfare Police), which has a black frame rather than a green one. However, the in-game weapon is not exactly the same as a real life AWSM or AWM either. The name AWM refers to an Arctic Warfare Magnum that is either chambered with a 10-round .308 Winchester magnum, or a 5-round .338 Lapua. The name AWSM refers to a AWM that uses the 5-round .338 Lapua, similiar to the one in-game. An AWSM with 10 rounds of .338 Lapua does not exist in real life. Therefore, the in-game weapon seems to be a mixture of the regular AWM and an AWSM. In Counter-Strike 1.6, it had a front sight not found on the actual AWSM. This was later changed in Counter-Strike: Source with a muzzle brake more commonly found on AWM/AWSM. Reduced power The AWSM is no longer as powerful as it once was. The AWSM was the most powerful it ever was in all versions prior to Counter-Strike 1.3, where one shot to any part of the body was an instant kill. Later updates reduced its effectiveness: Counter-Strike 1.3 made the leg shot non-lethal and Counter-Strike 1.5 made it so that the AWSM and pistols took longer to switch to, as well as making the AWSM extremely inaccurate without using the scope, crippling the AWSM's effectiveness in close-quarters; Counter-Strike 1.6 drastically increased the time to scope in, which was criticized as making it nearly worthless. Players quickly got used to the newly nerfed AWSM. The latest update to Counter-Strike once again reduced the scope time. A brand new flaw is the "Quick switch" glitch. Many players use it to reduce the time between each shots by switching to another weapon during the bolt animation. This glitch still exists in Counter-Strike: Source and yet has to be fixed. Achievements Kill Trivia *The AWSM is one of the most used weapons in the [[Counter-Strike series|''Counter-Strike series]]. *The AWSM in the German version of ''Left 4 Dead 2'' is a direct port of the Counter-Strike: Source version. *The game file name for this weapon is awp. *The AWSM is perfect for dealing collateral damage, making it easy to get the Ammo Conservation achievement with it. *A numerous amount of servers ban this weapon due to it being extremely powerful, and how easy it is to kill another player with it. Gallery : Main article: Arctic Warfare Super Magnum/Gallery External links *Arctic Warfare Super Magnum at Wikipedia Category:Rifles Category:Weapons